As I've mentioned previously, we're looking to move from Woodley (Reading) to somewhere in Wiltshire, possibly Devizes, or Westbury, or anywhere else that we like the look of around there.
Main reason for moving is to pay off the mortgage - this should be possible given that prices are cheaper over there and we can downsize a bit (just the 2 of us and the dog now). But we also fancy moving somewhere a bit quieter - it already feels 'crowded' around here at times, and there's at least 3 housing developments going up nearby. No overriding reason to stay.
Main requirements are:
- My commute to Bath, 3 days a week (minimum). Want to avoid having to buy another car. Devizes doesn't have a train station, but it does have a bus service (Faresaver X72) which would cost about £20 per week ie. peanuts compare to what I'm currently paying for the train. Anywhere along that bus route would also be a possibility (Sells Green, Bowerhill, Melksham). Westbury does have a station (£10.40 return to Bath), but not such a nice area?
- Not a typical 'estate' house with an overlooked garden, and no shared drive. But semi- as well as fully detached a possibility; a chalet bungalow would probably be ideal. 3 bedrooms minimum, no real advantage in having more. 2 floors max.
Chippenham might be a possibility, although Mrs F has been there and has reservations. Also, does the fact that it's closer to the M4 mean it's more likely to attract new housing? You might have seen that story last week of a couple in their 'dream' country cottage on the outskirts of Chippenham who now find themselves in the middle of a planned 700 home development.
Our house isn't on the market yet (should be by end of next month) so it's early days. It's not an area either of us are that familiar with, although we've had a couple of drives around and have got an expedition planned for the 11/12th.
Any suggestions, thoughts, advice on places to avoid in Wiltshire welcome.
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>> Any suggestions, thoughts, advice on places to avoid in Wiltshire welcome.
Swindon - Avoid the "P" areas: i.e. Penhill, Pinehurst, Park North, Park South.
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>> Swindon - Avoid the "P" areas: i.e. Penhill, Pinehurst, Park North, Park South.
Mmm... I guess the commute cost isn't too bad at £13.30 return, but the main problem is that, for whatever reason, Mrs F won't consider the place. I must admit on the one time we went shopping in the town centre on the way back from somewhere I wasn't impressed. So at the moment it's off the list, at least while we feel there are better alternatives.
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Avoid Trowbrige. I like Bradford-on-Avon, which is a pleasant country town and only a short and pleasant rail trip to Bath. It has some nice country nearby. It can however be congested in the centre and an area with the space you need could be a tidy step from the station. Nearer Bath on the same line are stations for the villages Avoncliff and Freshford.
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>> Nearer Bath on the same line are stations for
>> the villages Avoncliff and Freshford.
Aren't prices going to be higher around those areas (and Bradford)? We do have to be careful with the budget, although of course we also need to be careful we end up somewhere we like :)
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>> >> Any suggestions, thoughts, advice on places to avoid in Wiltshire welcome.
No idea what your current equity is, or what type of property you want.
I've explored most of the line Reading to Bath via Westbury. And I just love Bradford upon Avon.
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>> No idea what your current equity is, or what type of property you want.
As mentioned above, full or semi-detached (chalet bungalow ideal), min 3 bedrooms, probably not on an estate unless non-overlooked with a nice garden and not hemmed-in, no shared drive. Currently looking at around £350k budget, but haven't had current house valued yet so might go up, hopefully not down.
>> I've explored most of the line Reading to Bath via Westbury. And I just love
>> Bradford upon Avon.
Well we thought that would be nice - it's one of the places we stopped of at when looking around late last year. And it looks nice from the train. But we didn't like the town centre - seemed like too much traffic, and tourists.
Perhaps we should have another look on our next jaunt.
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Old info - but we used to caravan for long weekends near Devizes, partly cos it was a convenient and well equipped site but more because we really liked Devizes. It was starting to expand as we finished caravanning but the town centre would have stayed pretty nice I think.
And don't let the idea of a local caravan park put you off, it was a small site a few miles outside town!!
I imagine Devizes would be in the "more affordable" range than other places down that way as it doesn't have the cachet that some do. Lovely countryside too.
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Estate Agents due here at 4pm - late !
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You sound like candidates for Escape to the Country ðŸ˜
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Only if we got Jules or Alistair :)
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>> You sound like candidates for Escape to the Country ðŸ˜
Retired old gits TV
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Just gonna watch todays episode on the Humax!
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There's a limerick about Devizes. Can't remember it now. Might be rude come to think.
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This one?
There was a young man from Devizes
Whose b*****ks were two different sizes.
One was so small
It was no use at all
The other was huge and won prizes.
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Wells is nice Focusless. Property not too expensive, easy bus ride into Bath.
I used have a flat in central Bath when mere mortals could afford them. I enjoyed my time there. I gather house prices there are astronomical now, well, by my standards anyway.
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Mr F wants to go to Devizes,
But the move Mrs F organises.
Be he ever so bold
He'll go where he's told:
She devises, he wilts. No surprises.
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Nice work, Avant!
AC, watch and learn. That's proper poetry, that is.
};---)
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>> Nice work, Avant!
Indeed - very perceptive :)
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>> AC, watch and learn. That's proper poetry, that is.
No it isn't. But it's quite a clever rhyme all the same. Credit where it's due.
'Watch and learn' indeed! Damn cheek.
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My missus and I live near Bradford-on-Avon. It's expensive, prices driven up as people are priced out of Bath. B-o-A is the next nicest place. Not good for olds though, due to the hill. Shops mostly tourist focused. Good schools and train station. Bad traffic queues through the town most of the day as everything has to go over the town bridge.
As you travel further from Bath, the prices soften but the desirability declines. Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster are not for me. Frome is quite nice but you're getting further from Bath, lengthening your commute. In the other direction I don't like Chippenham or Melksham. Probably Devizes is the best fit if you can't afford B-o-A.
One point though - there are housing developments springing up everywhere in West Wilts, so that nice green view may not be in ten years...or less?
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I was born in Bradford, went to BBGS and am a Bradfordian
What do you call people born in Bfd on Avon? Serious question.
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No idea. Never heard of any classification. It's just circumstance that we ended up there. We were looking at a nice place in Sneyd Park Bristol but I was over-ruled by the missus as she prefers the countryside.
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Well we're officially going on the market....where to next ?
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>> Well we're officially going on the market....where to next ?
Is that "I dont know where we are going"
or
"I want you to guess where we are going"
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Sell up, load the camper van, strap a motorbike or two to the back, make sure the passports have a few years to run, buy ferry ticket, come back when you get bored...
Oh, and don't forget to buy two straw hats, you'll need those in the hotter countries.
;-)
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I live in a two bedroom ground floor apartment.
I have no complaints where I live. I overlook water.
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We know roughly...could still be town, country or village. There's a dearth of property available in the particular price bracket we're after...
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>> We know roughly...could still be town, country or village. There's a dearth of property available
>> in the particular price bracket we're after...
Well at least you have ruled out a houseboat in the city.
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:-).....It's within a particular area which stretches from Rhyl (yikes) in the North to Ruthin in the south.
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Moving to Yorkshire (North, not West or South) seems the trendy thing do.
From Leeds Bradford airport the worlds your lobster....
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Thanks everyone.
>> One point though - there are housing developments springing up everywhere in West Wilts, so
>> that nice green view may not be in ten years...or less?
That's definitely a worry; not sure if anywhere's safe, although one option is to find somewhere in an older developed area where they're not too crammed in (like our current place).
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I moved to a brand new development of 13 properties some 16 years ago. I was no 4 of 13. It took two years for the debvelopment to complete after I moved in, so lived on a dusty building site for a while. I made sure that I would never ever lose the view, which all comes back to the ' location location' adage.
Happy hunting
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Not sure about the dodgy strip club look in the first one's bar/lounge!
That third one looks like half the houses round here, but about double the price.
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>> www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/39528454?search_identifier=336dc9169cb8017156505208ee8d91db#LKKBmGBRPDIsoXQx.97
'Former Working Men's Club Attached' - excellent! And look at (the underside of) that roof.
But seriously, nothing 'listed' and/or 'in need of some renovation'; easy life for me please :)
>> www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/39475468?search_identifier=336dc9169cb8017156505208ee8d91db#M77c2FEPl4d0Ah8l.97
Having said nothing 'listed', that one does look quite interesting, especially the music room basement - ideal for Mrs F's bass guitar practise. Main problem is probably the commute - looks like I'd need a bus and a train, or 2 buses, which would be a bit of a PITA.
>> And some real hell-holes too.
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>> www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/39110943?search_identifier=336dc9169cb8017156505208ee8d91db#QTuJelKBqqF6Mzw4.97
Don't think that looks too bad actually, although does look expensive for what you (don't) get compared to others; what's wrong with it?
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>> >> www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/39475468?search_identifier=336dc9169cb8017156505208ee8d91db#M77c2FEPl4d0Ah8l.97
>>
>> Having said nothing 'listed', that one does look quite interesting, especially the music room basement
>> - ideal for Mrs F's bass guitar practise. Main problem is probably the commute -
>> looks like I'd need a bus and a train, or 2 buses, which would be
>> a bit of a PITA.
I'd say the main problem is when you look at Streetview. Well done to the estate agent for photographing the place in such a way as to make it look buyable.
You would have to have your bumps feeled if you bought anything in Linden Close, Calne, I fear. I retract my previous comments about the place.
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I often pass through Chippenham and Calne, needing to stop for lunch. My preference is to do so in Calne, even though the range and variety of outlets is smaller, as the locals seem to resemble the cast of '28 Days Later' a little less. And I can usually park on the A4 for free. Gots to pay to park near the shops in Chippers.
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>> as the locals seem to resemble the cast of '28 Days Later' a little less.
lol
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Calne? Haven't been there for years. There used to be a pig factory there which created a certain distinctive smell in the town centre. Harris I think the name was.
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Well we found this nice place in Whitley, Melksham, and the solicitors were busy sorting things out. We were over there at the weekend chatting to the current owners, and they went and mentioned the S word. Yep - they'd had some minor subsidence.
Apparently there used to be a big tree out front that caused some sort of lean-to near the front door to lean more than it ought to. Tree was removed and lean-to was replaced with the current proper porch, with nice deep foundations. There had also been some issue with rear exterior wall - gaps between frames and lintels in upper windows, and a crack. All fixed.
If we'd read this in the property details then we'd probably never have made an offer. But (unsurprisingly) it wasn't there, and we did. We do still like the place - haven't seen any others we'd want to buy to be honest - but I guess it will at least cost more for the house insurance (we're not getting a mortgage). I'm getting someone in to do a General Structural Inspection, paying particular attention to the (potential) problem areas.
Current owners are a nice retired couple who have been there 20-odd years, and appear to have paid to get any problems sorted out (new-ish A3 and 370Z on the drive).
Any thoughts? Anyone living in a subsided property?
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>>Any thoughts?
I have seen properties advertised where the details of subsidence have been fully disclosed, and so they should be. Possible subsidence is the main reason that we have forked out for full structural surveys in the past.
If you are absolutely in love with the place, you might be able to secure a considerable discount. Personally, I would walk away.
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I'd walk away. A shame, but do you love it enough to take the risk? Even a small one?
What about when/if you come to sell it? Perhaps future buyers will be less accepting.
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When we were house hunting 2009/2010 we put an offer in for a house that had no chain and was in the right location, right size (once we'd extended the kitchen). Surveyor said there was evidence of subsidence and when he pointed out some of the signs it was obvious.
Seller claimed they had no knowledge, etc. It hadn't been underpinned etc. It was their late father's house. They eventually produced about a dozen pages on the work that had been done. We walked away.
It sold soon afterwards at full asking price. We did wonder if they'd have a survey. We didn't need one as there was no mortgage but no way would I have bought without a survey/structural report.
In your case, the problems might not have been anywhere as bad. Was it even claimed on household insurance and classed as subsidence?
Still think I'd keep looking for another house.
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It can be hard to find the perfect house, and when I do I can never afford it! There is usually a compromise somewhere, but knowledge is power and the price has to be right.
I'd still be wary of subsidence and flood risk of course, but there are less obvious problems.
There are quite a few old houses round here that have literally no foundations. A friend of mine lives in one, two old brick cottages knocked through. In was was the garden is a modern detached house, built in the 70s. The modern one has has major subsidence problems, fixed now by a lot of digging and concrete. The old one has never moved, but I suspect it would be tricky to get a mortgage on.
Another friend lives in a lovely cottage in Norfolk, near Wymondham, that is of clay lump (mud) construction. She inherited it, but assumes should she ever want to sell that anybody wanting a mortgage would struggle.
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>>Any thoughts? Anyone living in a subsided property?
This is an example of why our system of making an offer STC can work to our advantage.
I've pulled out at the very last moment on more than a few properties I've made offers on, when I, not some over-paid excuse for a surveyor, have discovered major faults with properties (use your eyes!)
I've bought-and-sold 9 properties over the years, so I've seen it all in one way or another.
Don't fall for the 'nice retired couple who have been there 20-odd years' malarkey - it's you and your family which matters.
Buy with your head not with your heart and, buy a property which you can sell on quite quickly if the (financial) need should arise.
This was the first property I bought in 1987. It had major subsidence, but was underpinned by the previous owner who was a builder. When my wifes G/father (property developer!) found out I'd bought it, he had kittens!!
www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.8605831,0.5583142,3a,54y,226.9h,87.21t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shbj9gKnudK3wjNPKwqzK7A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
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Thanks for that everyone. Yes, we're still looking for a plan B, and Mrs F is heading back over there to view a couple of other possibilities tomorrow. Surveyor is having a good (£500) nose around on Thursday; see what that throws up. I've also asked for details of their current insurance.
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Two separate areas of subsidence, not mentioned until raised by a buyer, one only a tree, the other fixed but is it a permanent fix? I wouldn't touch it with your bargepole.
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The clues to the subsidence for the house we looked at (could have avoided the survey!):
1. Front of house looked in very good condition including pointing. Well it had been rebuilt on new foundations so it should have!
2. Doors not all square.
3. Side wall rendered (probably a big crack under that).
4. Huge tree trunk a few feet from kitchen window
There were other issues with it as well (woodworm in the stairs down to the cellar) and it needed a lot of work doing on it to bring it up to standard and to extend the kitchen.
The other thing I discovered myself was there was actually two lots of subsidence that had been dealt with. Buyer only divulged on one! The front of the house had been rebuilt on new foundations (and paid for by the council!!?!?) but the party wall also needed underpinning. How did I find that out? I just looked at the council planning department computers for the work. Did a look up on this house before we got a survey.
I am so glad we spent the hundreds we did on the structural report on the other house. And we got a discount on the same report/checks for this house :-)
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>> Two separate areas of subsidence, not mentioned until raised by a buyer,
No, it was the sellers telling us about them that kicked this off.
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But not up front enough to put it in the description? Just waited until you were through the door.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Mon 18 Apr 16 at 20:11
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Any history of flooding, subsidence or a neighbour with a flag on a pole in the garden and I would be unseen retreating due to the clouds of dust.
;-)
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Maybe lack of focus has a couple or three hundred thousand quid going spare that he can afford to be without. :-)
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Cynical old me wonders if the late disclosure of subsidence is covering their legal backs in case of future problems.
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South of the border, ON, one has to complete a vast amount of paperwork, with questions about subsidence, floods, grotty neighbours, etc, etc...
;-)
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When contemplating a move some years (and two houses) ago I looked at a new house which backed onto tree covered hill. The builder had cut into the hillside to create a garden space. Although the houses were new and unoccupied I could see the trees on hillside leaning towards the houses and a closer look revealed horizontal cracks across the hill. A very short viewing.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 19 Apr 16 at 08:27
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Someone else moving - VxFan
